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1. Legendary Cloak
It pains me to admit I still don't have a single legendary cloak! I was really happy when I found out that even a casual ramble like me could take part in the Legendary Questline and decided to focus on my hunter. I've got her to the PvP stage and the quest The Lion Roars and then gave up - PvP is not my thing. But I am determined to get her the cloak before Warlords of Draenor and if I can get the cloak on another character too that would be the icing on the cake!
2. Flexing
When Flex raiding came out with Siege of Orgrimmar I was super-duper excited - the prospect of being with a group of people that cared ever-so-slightly more then the LFR-trolls was something I couldn't wait to experience. I managed to go on several runs with a Twitter friends guild and it gave me a completely new perspective of raiding. I'm not ready or in any position to raid for real but Flexi is about my level (I think). Hopefully, my guild will be starting flex raiding in the near future.
3. Fourth Level 90
I currently have three max level characters - my hunter, mage and DK. I've been working really hard in the latter quarter of 2013 to get my druid there too. She's just arrived in Deepholm and is bascially level 83 so not long before Pandaria.
As a sub-resolution I'd love to start towards achieving Double Agent!
My latest addition to the Pet Battles family. |
So, there we have it my 5 Pre-Warlords of Draenor Easily-Achieveable-Yet-Slightly-Challenging Resolutions. Happy New Year everyone!


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The overachieving Charles C. Johnson of the Breitbart domain and several other enterprises (and a recent product of the Claremont brain factory), writes in exclusively to Power Line with a topic that Obama ought to be asked about in one of the debates—will a second-term Obama press for gun control? Apparently his chief strategist likes the idea:
David Axelrod called on citizens to "put pressure" on lawmakers and demagogued the recent shooting of a Chicagoan over the Christmas holiday. In an article titled simply, "Gun Control," Axelrod prophesized there might come a time when guns could be restricted, writing on January 2, 1974:
"Thus far, that pressure [to pass gun control laws] has not been forthcoming. But maybe someday there will be one too many blood murders, one too many homicides entered into the police files, and that "pressure from the people" will come."
Axelrod wanted to extend Chicago's controversial gun ban and restriction law to the entirety of Illinois, and like Mayor Daley, pushed to make gun laws still stricter in his daily column for the Hyde Park Herald. He applauded the efforts of former New York Mayor John Lindsay to demand stricter federal gun laws and condemned efforts by the National Rifle Association to "thwart" those laws.
To his credit, Axelrod realized that the Chicago anti-gun approach wasn't working. "Clearly, the gun problem is a perplexing one," Axelrod wrote. "The registration laws have been ineffective, and any effort to construct stricter gun control laws will be crushed by the monstrous gun lobby." What was needed was more gun control laws, beyond the usual registration and safety courses advocated by gun restrictionists.
Over and over again, Axelrod called for more anti gun laws in his column. There was, for instance, the glowing profile he did of the Civic Disarmament committee, which sought to pass handgun bans (January 16, 1974).
State Senator Barack Obama shared Axelrod's views, pushing for gun control at every opportunity, including in the aftermath of tragic shootings in Chicago's notoriously violent—and anti-gun—South Side. (See The Vetting: Obama Has Demagogued Guns, from 2000 to Today). Indeed, Obama campaigned on making gun control laws restricted in his 2000 bid for Congress.
The views Axelrod expressed in The Hyde Park Herald then provide an unusual glimpse into the politics and agenda of the man whom the president says shares nearly all of his political views. The anti-gun views also provide an insight into what the Obama Administration might do in a second term.
Might a horrific shooting be a crisis too good to waste?

subset: commoncrawl


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As a small business owner, you're no stranger to long to-do lists. This is especially true if you've begun hiring, which generates a lot of employee paperwork.
But if you're like most startups, there's no room in the budget for an administrative assistant, never mind an HR specialist. How do you get ahead of this issue when you're in charge? What's the best approach to tackling employee recordkeeping as your business and staff grow?
Here are some guidelines for setting up an efficient and compliant recordkeeping system for your business.
Paper or Electronic?
Many businesses start out with a paper-based recordkeeping system. This can make sense when you have just a couple of employees, but eventually, it can become cumbersome. For most growing businesses, electronic documents are easier and less costly to maintain, organize and store. Plus, when records are stored "in the cloud" (online), you can access them anywhere, any time you have Internet access.
Whether you use paper, electronic files, or both, consistency is the key to effective recordkeeping. For example, if your hiring records are sorted by employee name, organize payroll records the same way. Keep the same system across all types of records, and make sure your file folders have accurate, uniform names.
Set Up Your Essential Employee Records
In most cases, you'll need to maintain three types of employee records: personnel, payroll, and medical files.
Personnel files cover employment history and should include hiring documents, employee and emergency contact information, and a signed acknowledgment of your company's employee handbook. Over time, you can add performance reviews, disciplinary forms, employee awards, training records, and termination letters.
Don't keep I-9 forms (used to verify employment eligibility in the U.S.) in the personnel file. Store these forms all together in a separate file. If your business is selected for an immigration-related audit or investigation, the investigator will ask to inspect these forms. Keeping these records separate helps to protect the privacy of your employees and reduces the risk of exposing your business to additional employment investigations.
Documents related to salary, benefits, and financial awards should be filed under payroll. Examples include timesheets, direct deposit information, and W-4 and W-2 forms.
The medical file should include application forms for health, life insurance, and other employee benefits if you offer them. Other possible medical records include requests for reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), injury reports required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and paperwork concerning employee leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) should those laws apply to your business.
Know What to Keep and for How Long
Federal employment laws specify how long you must keep certain employee records. It's important to adhere to those timeframes to avoid penalties. At the same time, holding on to documents longer than necessary (instead of discarding them) isn't recommended, as any retained records could still be used against you in the event of a lawsuit.
Below is a list of required employee records and the retention periods mandated by federal law:
- Resumes, job applications, and hiring tests – 1 year (no requirement for unsolicited resumes)
- Form I-9 – 3 years from the date of hire or 1 year after termination (whichever is later)
- Payroll documentation, including wage and promotion information and timekeeping records – 3 to 4 years for most documentation
- W-4s – 4 years after taxes due or paid
- Performance reviews – 2 years
- Physical exam results – 1 year after action is taken based on physical exams
- Drug test results – Most recent year's report on file for one year
- Request for reasonable accommodation – 1 year after action taken or document created, whichever is later
- Benefit plans – 1 year after termination of the plan
- FMLA documentation – 3 years after leave ends
- Termination records – 1 year from the termination date
Maintaining an effective recordkeeping system is challenging when you don't have dedicated administrative personnel on staff. But with proper planning and follow-through, you can get organized and meet the legal requirements.
Copyright © 2024 SCORE Association, SCORE.org
Funded, in part, through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.


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OVERSTREET et al. v. NORTH SHORE CORPORATION.
63 S.Ct. 494
87 L.Ed. 656
OVERSTREET et al.
No. 284.
Argued Jan. 11, 1943.
Decided Feb. 1, 1943.
Mr. Lucien H. Boggs, of Jacksonville, Fla., for petitioners.
Mr. Francis M. Shea, Asst. Atty. Gen., for Administration of Wage & Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor, as amicus curiae, by special leave of Court.
Mr. Roswell P. C. May, of New York City, for respondent.
Mr. Justice MURPHY delivered the opinion of the Court.
This is another case in which we must define the scope of the Fair Labor Standards Act.1 52 Stat. 1060, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., 29 U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq. The precise question is whether petitioners who are engaged in maintaining or operating a toll road and a drawbridge over a navigable waterway which together constitute a medium for the interstate movement of goods and persons are 'engaged in commerce' within the meaning of §§ 6 and 7 of the Act.2
Petitioners, together with others not parties to this petition, brought this action against respondent and a subsidiary under § 16(b) of the Act for the recovery of unpaid minimum wages, overtime compensation, and liquidated damages. Respondent moved to dismiss as to all the plaintiffs, and the motion as to petitioners was granted by the district court, leave to amend being given to the other complainants who are not before us. D.C., 43 F.Supp. 445. Petitioners appealed to the Circuit Court of Appeals which affirmed the order of dismissal. 5 Cir., 128 F.2d 450. The important question raised as to the coverage of the Act caused us to grant certiorari. 317 U.S. 606, 63 S.Ct. 56, 87 L.Ed. —-.
The relevant facts alleged in the complaint as amended, which are to be taken as true for purposes of the motion to dismiss, may be summarized as follows:
Respondent owns and operates a toll road and a drawbridge which is part of the road. The toll road connects United States Highway No. 17, an interstate arterial highway, with Fort George Island, which lies off the northern coast of Florida, being separated from the mainland by the Intercoastal Waterway. The toll road crosses the Waterway at Sisters' Creek by means of the drawbridge which must be raised frequently to permit the passage of boats engaged in interstate commerce. The toll road constitutes an integral part of the highway system of the United States and provides the only means of land communication between Fort George Island and the Florida mainland. It is used extensively by persons and vehicles traveling between the island and points outside Florida in interstate commerce. Mail to and from other states as well as goods produced outside Florida and consigned to merchants on the island are transported over the toll road. Each of the petitioners was employed by respondent in connection with the operation of the toll road and drawbridge. Overstreet operated the drawbridge raising it for the passage of boats through Sisters' Creek and lowering it for the resumption of traffic over the road; Brazle was engaged in maintenance and repair work on the road and the bridge; and Garvin sold and collected toll tickets from 'vehicles using said toll road in interstate commerce'. Petitioners received neither the minimum wages nor the overtime compensation prescribed by §§ 6 and 7 of the Act.
We think these allegations bring petitioners within the coverage of the Act and entitle them to recover if proved.
Our starting point is respondent's concession that no question of constitutional power is involved, but only the ascertainment of Congressional intent, that is, did Congress mean to include employees such as petitioners within the Act. In arriving at that intent it must be remembered that Congress did not choose to exert its power to the full by regulating industries and occupations which affect interstate commerce. See A. B. Kirschbaum Co. v. Walling, 316 U.S. 517, 522, 523, 62 S.Ct. 1116, 1119, 1120, 86 L.Ed. 1638; Walling v. Jacksonville Paper Co., 317 U.S. 564, 63 S.Ct. 332, 335, 87 L.Ed. —-, decided January 18, 1943. Respondent contends that petitioners are in this category, that their activities are local and at most only affect commerce. But the policy of Congressional abnegation with respect to occupations affecting commerce is no reason for narrowly circumscribing the phrase 'engaged in commerce'. We said in the Jacksonville Paper Co. case, supra, 'It is clear that the purpose of the Act was to extend federal control in this field throughout the farthest reaches of the channels of interstate commerce'. And in determining what constitutes 'commerce' or 'engaged in commerce' we are guided by practical considerations. Jacksonville Paper Co. case, supra, and see also Shanks v. Delaware, L. & W.R. Co., 239 U.S. 556, 558, 36 S.Ct. 188, 189, 60 L.Ed. 436, L.R.A.1916C, 797, dealing with what will shortly be pointed out as a similar question in the coverage of the Federal Employers' Liability Act.
A practical test of what 'engaged in interstate commerce' means has been evolved in cases arising under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq., 45 U.S.C.A. § 51 et seq.) which, before the 1939 amendment (see 53 Stat. 1404, 45 U.S.C.A. §§ 51, 54, 56, 60), applied only where injury was suffered while the carrier was engaging in interstate or foreign commerce and the injured employee was employed by the carrier 'in such commerce'. 35 Stat. 65. In determining the reach of that phrase the case of Pedersen v. Delaware Lack. & West. R.R., 229 U.S. 146, 33 S.Ct. 648, 57 L.Ed. 1125, Ann.Cas.1914C, 153, held that an employee who was injured while carrying bolts to be used in repairing a railroad bridge over which interstate trains passed was engaged in interstate commerce within the meaning of the Liability Act. It was pointed out that tracks and bridges were indispensable to interstate commerce and 'that the work of keeping such instrumentalities in a proper state of repair while thus used is so closely related to such commerce as to be in practice and in legal contemplation a part of it.' Id, 229 U.S. at page 151, 33 S.Ct. at page 649, 57 L.Ed. 1125, Ann.Cas.1914C, 153. See also Philadelphia, B. & W.R. Co. v. Smith, 250 U.S. 101, 39 S.Ct. 396, 63 L.Ed. 869; Southern R. Co. v. Puckett, 244 U.S. 571, 37 S.Ct. 703, 61 L.Ed. 1321, Ann.Cas.1918B, 69; New York Cent. R. Co. v. Porter, 249 U.S. 168, 37 S.Ct. 188, 63 L.Ed. 536; Kinzell v. Chicago M. & St. P.R. Co., 250 U.S. 130, 39 S.Ct. 412, 63 L.Ed. 893; Southern Pac. Co. v. Industrial Accident Comm., 251 U.S. 259, 40 S.Ct. 130, 64 L.Ed. 258, 10 A.L.R. 1181; Philadelphia & R.R. Co. v. Di Dinato, 256 U.S. 327, 41 S.Ct. 516, 65 L.Ed. 955; Rader v. Baltimore & O.R. Co., 7 Cir., 108 F.2d 980. Compare Shanks v. Delaware, L. & W.R. Co., 239 U.S. 556, 36 S.Ct. 188, 60 L.Ed. 436, L.R.A.1916C, 797; Chicago & N.W.R. Co. v. Bolle, 284 U.S. 74, 52 S.Ct. 59, 76 L.Ed. 173; Chicago & E.I.R. Co. v. Industrial Commission, 284 U.S. 296, 52 S.Ct. 151, 76 L.Ed. 304, 77 A.L.R. 1367.
We think that practical test should govern here.3 Vehicular roads and bridges are as indispensable to the interstate movement of persons and goods as railroad tracks and bridges are to interstate transportation by rail. If they are used by persons and goods passing between the various States, they are instrumentalities of interstate commerce. Cf. Convington & C. Bridge Co. v. Kentucky, 154 U.S. 204, 218, 14 S.Ct. 1087, 1092, 38 L.Ed. 962. Those persons who are engaged in maintaining and repairing such facilities should be considered as 'engaged in commerce' even as was the bolt carrying employee in the Pedersen case, supra, because without their services these instrumentalities would not be open to the passage of goods and persons across state lines. And the same is true of operational employees whose work is just as closely related to the interstate movement. Of course, all this is subject to the qualification that the Act does not consider as an employer the United States or any State or political subdivision of a State, and hence does not apply to their employees. § 3(d).
The allegations of petitioners' complaint satisfy this practical test. The road and bridge allegedly afford passage to an extensive movement of goods and persons between Florida and other states, and moreover the drawbridge presents an obstacle to interstate traffic by water over the Intercoastal Waterway if not properly operated. The operational and maintenance activities of petitioners are vital to the proper functioning of these structures as instrumentalities of interstate commerce. The services of Overstreet are necessary to prevent the drawbridge from being either a barrier to interstate navigation or else a gap in the vehicular way. Without the services of Brazle the facilities would fall into disrepair, and both operation and maintenance would seem to depend upon Garvin's collecting the toll from users of the structures. The work of each petitioner in providing a means of interstate transportation and communication is so intimately related to interstate commerce 'as to be in practice and in legal contemplation a part of it' (Pedersen's case, supra) and justifies regarding petitioners as 'engaged in commerce' within the meaning of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Respondent resists the application of the test of the Pedersen and related cases, cited above, pointing out that there may be pitfalls in translating implications from the special aspects of one statute to another (see, Federal Trade Comm. v. Bunte Bros., 312 U.S. 349, 353, 61 S.Ct. 580, 582, 85 L.Ed. 881), and claiming that significant differences exist between the Federal Employers' Liability Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. The outstanding difference asserted is that a railroad company is actually engaged in commerce as a carrier of goods and persons, and since it is difficult to consider the business other than as a whole and to separate maintenance from transportation employees, there is good reason for treating maintenance employees as engaged in commerce. (Compare the Pedersen case, supra, 229 U.S. at pages 151, 152, 33 S.Ct. at pages 649, 650, 57 L.Ed. 1125, Ann.Cas.1914C, 153.) As regards itself respondent says that it is not engaged in commerce, but only in providing facilities which those carrying on commerce may use, and therefore there is no sound basis for treating its maintenance and operational employees as engaged in commerce—rather they only affect commerce. Reliance is placed upon Henderson Bridge Company v. Kentucky, 166 U.S. 150, 17 S.Ct. 532, 41 L.Ed. 953, and Detroit International Bridge Co. v. Corporation Tax Appeal Board, 294 U.S. 83, 55 S.Ct. 332, 79 L.Ed. 777, where in sustaining the power of the States of Kentucky and Michigan, respectively, to tax the franchise of domestic corporations operating bridges between Kentucky and Indiana and between Michigan and Canada, it was said that the respective bridge companies were not engaged in interstate or foreign commerce. We do not regard these objections as well taken.
The Federal Employers' Liability Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act are not strictly analogous, but they are similar. Both are aimed at protecting commerce from injury through adjustment of the master-servant relationship, the one by liberalizing the common law rules pertaining to negligence and the other by eliminating sub-standard working conditions. We see no persuasive reason why the scope of employed or engaged 'in commerce' laid down in the Pedersen and related cases, cited above, should not be applied to the similar language in the Fair Labor Standards Act, especially when Congress in adopting the phrase 'engaged in commerce' had those Federal Employers' Liability Act cases brought to its attention.4
The Henderson and Detroit bridge cases, supra, do not affect our conclusion. We have pointed out that decisions such as those, dealing with various assertions of state or federal power in the commerce field, are not particularly helpful in determining the scope of the Act. A. B. Kirschbaum Co. v. Walling, supra, 316 U.S. at pages 520, 521, 62 S.Ct. at pages 1118, 1119, 86 L.Ed. 1638; Walling v. Jacksonville Paper Co., supra. But even if we accept the premise of the Bridge cases and regard respondent as not engaged in commerce, the result is not changed. The nature of the employer's business is not determinative, because as we have repeatedly said, the application of the Act depends upon the character of the employees' activities. A. B. Kirschbaum Co. v. Walling, supra, 316 U.S. at page 524, 62 S.Ct. at page 1120, 86 L.Ed. 1638; Warren-Bradshaw Drilling Co. v. Hall, 317 U.S. 88, 63 S.Ct. 125, 87 L.Ed. —-, decided November 9, 1942; Walling v. Jacksonville Paper Co., supra. The fact that respondent may be subject to state taxation does not imply that it is free from federal regulation or that its road and drawbridge are not instrumentalities of interstate commerce. Petitioners, who are engaged in operating and maintaining respondent's facilities so that there may be interstate passage of persons and goods over them, are so closely related to that interstate movement as a practical matter that we think they must be regarded, under the allegations of their complaint, as 'engaged in commerce' within the meaning of §§ 6 and 7 of the Act.
We conclude that petitioners' complaint was erroneously dismissed. Accordingly, the judgment below is reversed and the cause remanded to the district court for further proceedings in conformity with this opinion.
Mr. Justice ROBERTS and Mr. Justice JACKSON dissent.
Compare A. B. Kirschbaum Co. v. Walling, 316 U.S. 517, 62 S.Ct. 1116, 86 L.Ed. 1638; Warren-Bradshaw Drilling Co. v. Hall, 317 U.S. 88, 63 S.Ct. 125, 87 L.Ed. —-, decided November 9, 1942; Walling v. Jacksonville Paper Co., 317 U.S. 564, 63 S.Ct. 332, 87 L.Ed. —-, decided January 18, 1943; Higgins v. Carr Brothers, 317 U.S. 572, 63 S.Ct. 337, 87 L.Ed. —-, decided January 18, 1943.
Section 3(b) defines 'commerce' as 'trade, commerce, transportation, transmission, or communication among the several States or from any State to any place outside thereof.'
This has been the administrative interpretation. See Interpretative Bulletin No. 5 of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor, issued in November, 1939, at p. 7. This is set forth in the 1941 Edition of the Wage and Hour Manual at p. 34. See also p. 54.
Compare the dissenting opinion in Pedersen v. J. F. Fitzgerald Construction Co., 262 App.Div. 665, 668, 30 N.Y.S.2d 989, affirmed without opinion, 288 N.Y. 687, 43 N.E.2d 83.
See 83 Cong.Rec., 75th Cong., 3d Sess., Pt. 7, p. 7434, and Pt. 8, pp. 9168-71. See also Joint Hearings before the Senate Committee on Education and Labor and the House Committee on Labor on S. 2475 and H.R. 7200, 75th Cong., 1st Sess. (1937), Pt. 1, pp. 42, 43.
The following state regulations pages link to this page.


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Oh God! by Tom Chapman
Oh God I hope wicked men get what's due
When the die and they come and stand before you,
When they cry and regret all that they've done
Their eternity in hell and forever to come.
I think billions will fall when You command
And a thousand will be at my right hand,
I will only look on and see those who hate You
The God of all men who they never knew.
Jesus will say, "I never knew you"
Every word from His mouth is perfectly true,
But it's you who do not know Him, He meant
Stop your wicked ways now and relent.
You must be born-again in your heart and your mind
There is no other way for all of mankind,
There is only One savior to save you from hell
When the last day comes and you say farewell.
Life is a vapor and will soon come to an end
Act like you care and don't just pretend,
Nothing is more serious than for you to repent
Eternity is coming and your life will be spent.
Some things are true whether you believe them or not
Believe what you will or believe what you aught,
Believe in Him now while you can still pray
We are all sinners and you must not delay.
Oh God I hope wicked men get what's due
But I much prefer that they come to know You,
I wish that all men would love You as I do
I take no joy in them not knowing You.
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Tuesday's Tip: How To Evaluate Tech Projects For Business Value
Today's Evaluation Frameworks Miss The Point
Business leaders seek clarity in understanding which technology solutions drive the most business value. Today's frameworks often focus on a combination of:
- Features - ability to execute, current offering, product depth, etc
- Direction - vision, strategy, corporate leadership, etc.
Unfortunately, the intersection of features and direction only addresses potential. Clients continue to express how potential alone no longer provides enough justification in vendor selection or understanding the overall adoption strategy.
Next Gen Evaluation Frameworks Must Start With Business Value
Business leaders seek returns on investment. IT leaders strive to reduce cost of delivery. ROI alone may not answer the question as business value needs to be expressed and compared. Business impact remains the goal in building out new frameworks. In addition, the cost of technologies must be factored. As a result, key questions in vendor selection often include:
- Will this product provide an ROI?
- Where will the organization realize a business impact?
- How do various solutions compare in delivering business value?
Organizations Must Balance Business Impact And Cost Of Technology Delivery
Based on conversations with 113 end user clients and vendors, there appears to be a market demand in building out a new framework that compares how (see Figure 1):
- Business impact extends across the value chain. Business impact extends into 3 levels of maturity from internal to external (i.e. department, cross enterprise, and business value chain). The greater the penetration of the solution, the greater the business value.
- Cost of technology delivery measures against percentage of revenue. Both scaling and return on investment reduce the cost of delivery. Reference data provided via customer references and case studies will provide key data points by industry, size, and geo.
Figure 1. Extent Of Business Impact And Cost Of Technology Delivery Drive Business Value
The Bottom Line - It's Time To Apply The New Model
Evaluation frameworks of the future must begin the process of identifying the key criteria required for end users to be successful with both their business and IT stakeholders. A confluence of disruptive business models, rapid adoption and obsolescence of technologies, and demand for business value data drive the need for this new model. Expect next gen business and technology leaders, research firms, and technology consultants to start today.
Pilot's Log (Behind The Scenes)
On the buy side, I've spoken with over 100 end user customers who remain frustrated with the existing evaluation models. They are ready to embrace models that measure business value. On the sell side, I was meeting with SAP a few weeks back to discuss their new industry strategy, which they launched at SAPPHIRE. When talking about what customers really need, we rekindled this concept of business value and IT value. In fact SAP is aiming their new industry strategy at providing a healthy balance between the two. Conversations with other vendors, hint that this concept will soon catch on. Look for some new evaluation frameworks to emerge from Altimeter this year as we build against these core principles.
Your POV.
Ready to put this model to work in evaluations? Do you think analyst firms should conduct research using this framework? You can post or send on to rwang0 at gmail dot com or r at softwaresinsider dot org and we'll keep your anonymity.
Please let us know if you need help with your apps strategy efforts. Here's how we can help:
- Evaluating tech projects for business value
- Assessing apps strategies (e.g. single instance, two-tier ERP, upgrade, custom dev, packaged deployments"
- Designing end to end processes and systems
- Comparing SaaS/Cloud integration strategies
- Assisting with legacy ERP migration
- Planning upgrades and migration
- Performing vendor selection
- Providing contract negotiations and software licensing support
Copyright © 2010 R Wang and Insider Associates, LLC. All rights reserved


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Fred nails it – out of the park!
By Fred Reed
All indicators point downward, I tell you. On the lobotomy box the other night I stumbled on what seemed to be sock puppets standing behind rostrums and hypnotically intoning "The American People, the American People, the American People."
Puzzled, I speculated that it might be a convention of performing autistics, but soon understood that it it was a debate among Republican candidates for the presidency. Why use people, I wondered? We could do it as well in software. Computer graphics, small recorded vocabulary, narcotic rhythm. Easy.
Someone named Romney was speaking. I checked the Wicked Pedia to see what manner of creature he might be. No surprises. Pampered rich kid, apparently not too bright, mediocre student in fancy private schools. A Mormon. Only one wife, though. A former missionary in France. It might have been worse. We could have bombed St. Denis.
I thought of all the Mormon missionaries I had seen in various countries, black-suited in Taiwan in August, peddling around like bicycle-borne undertakers, earnest, solemn, living in some eerie head-bubble inaccessible to outsiders. Oh help.
I'm going to become an ant, I decided. It would be less embarrassing. I don't know how to go about it, but there must be a way. I'll live in one of those high-rise mud nests in the Australian desert, except I think those are termites. How can they be termites with no wood to eat? Maybe they have it shipped in.
Among the American-Peoplers was Rick Perry, a Son of Texas in the mold of Bush II, dumb as turnips, inarticulate, a wing-nut Christian. I guess he's waitin' for thet ol' Rapture-suction to whoosh him up to drink Lone Star with Chay-suss. Poor Chaysuss. Rick wants to invade Mexico militarily, but only with the permission of the Mexican government. Thoughtful of him to ask.
Does he speak Spanish? No. English? Almost. Any experience outside the US? No. Doesn't need it. He has a direct line to God, who presumably speaks to him slowly, in words without too many syllables.
"The American People. The American People. We have to get America back on track. The Ordinary American. We have to get back to American Values. The American Dream."
What the hell is the American Dream, I wondered? Seven credit cards maxed-out, living paycheck to paycheck, upside down on the mortgage in a boring house you don't really like, a job you hate but the retirement plan gotcha, your little boy buzzing on force-fed Ritalin, wife and daughter gobbling Prozac and everyone wondering, "Is this all there is?"
Actually, yes. Well, maybe a week at Disneyland with that stupid mouse.
Then Michele Bachman, clueless evangelical daffodil. May God save us from Christianity. Brighter than Perry, but so is anything not actually inanimate. Not visibly intelligent enough to disqualify her for election, but maybe she is dissimulating. No experience in the world that I can see.
"America was not created to be a nation of followers,," Romney told his followers. The key to election seems to be to tell Americans how wonderful they are, stroke them like cats, avoid puzzling them, and keep saying "The American Dream." Tell them that we're a country of rugged individualists, just like Davy Crockett and Dan'l Boone. Probably we should wear coon-skin hats.
Somebody asked Romney, will he attack Iran if it doesn't obey Washington? "Absolutely," responded this apostle of the Church of Latter Day Pattons. Japan's oil comes through the Straits of Hormuz, which his hearers believe to be a brand of beef stew. No oil, no Japan. No matter. "The American People…."
I'm going to slit my throat. Do ants have throats? A country of 315 million, nuclear-armed, able to wreck other countries it has never heard of in minutes, and the candidates sound as if they were addressing a warehouse of stuffed animals. This is the best we can do?
The American People. The American Dream. We must turn this country around. Ok, then the East Coast would front on the Pacific. Why would that be better? It's probably some sort of real-estate scam.
Newt Gingrich. At least he's been to school, though he's smart enough not to emphasize it. The American People. The traditional values that made this country grate. Great. America is not a desperately sick over-policed welfare state collapsing into the Third World. No. Everything is as it always was. All we need is the Newt World Order and we will leap tall buildings at a single bound.
He too wants to attack Iran. The man has the military grasp of Tinker Belle. Grrr, bow-wow, woof.
Maybe instead of an ant, I'll become an aardvark. Though I'm not sure what one is. I need a change of phylum. What do cephalopods eat?
At least we no longer have that low-wattage high-school cheerleader turned moose-huntress. Stuffed animals fore and aft, I tell you. Contemplating Obama, I swore I'd never vote for another black president. After Bush II, I swore I'd nver vote for another white one. My options were narrowing. Now I'm thinking Obama or Herman Cain. Slick Empty in the great White Yurt on Pennsylvania Avenue is still corrupt and invertebrate, but now only starts small wars, as in Uganda. Cain makes pizzas and seems to be a human being. It's a novel concept but these are trying times. Besides they say he did sexually inappropriate stuff to some gals who want to be on talk-shows and get book contracts. Good for him. I'm going to start a group called Men Mad at Sanctimonious Priss Spigots. Cain can be a Founding Fondler.
Except for Cain (I think) and Ron Paul, the candidates all want to attack Iran. Rick Santorum too. I guess it's a manhood issue. Maybe we could buy them codpieces instead. Michele could get hers from Victoria's Secret, with sequins and flowers. Most of this crew were of military age during Viet Nam. How many served? Ah. Umm. Uh. Urg. A pack of martial dwarves without the tiniest freaking idea why the Pentagon can't beat Iran.
I couldn't take it. Before Ron Paul began to speak I went out for a gallon of Padre Kino red and an IV drip. I thought it might hold me over until I figured out how to become an aardvark.
After all, Ron Paul is tiresomely predictable. He would say hateful anti-American things. You know, we should get out of damn fool wars, pick the military leech off the back of the republic, dismantle an empire that bankrupts the US, and end our perpetual state of martial priapism against Iran. Completely uneletable. A commie, I figure.


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Shocking new way to create nanoporous materials revealed
Scientists have developed a new method of creating nanoporous materials with potential applications in everything from water purification to chemical sensors.
In order to produce a porous material it is necessary to have multiple components. When the minor component is removed, small pores are left in its place. Until now, creating nanoporous materials was limiting as it was believed the minor component had to be connected throughout the structure as well as to the outside in order for it to be removed.
However, new research published today (Sunday, 27 November) in the journal Nature Materials has demonstrated a much more effective, flexible method called collective osmotic shock (COS) for creating porous structures. The research, by scientists at the University of Cambridge, has shown how by using osmotic forces even structures with minor components entirely encapsulated in a matrix can be made porous (or nanoporous).
The lead author, Dr Easan Sivaniah from the University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory, explains how the process works: "The experiment is rather similar to the classroom demonstration using a balloon containing salty water. How does one release the salt from the balloon? The answer is to put the balloon in a bath of fresh water. The salt can't leave the balloon but the water can enter, and it does so to reduce the saltiness in the balloon. As more water enters, the balloon swells, and eventually bursts, releasing the salt completely.
"In our experiments, we essentially show this works in materials with these trapped minor components, leading to a series of bursts that connect together and to the outside, releasing the trapped components and leaving an open porous material."
The researchers have also demonstrated how the nanoporous materials created by the unique process can be used to develop filters capable of removing very small dyes from water.
Dr Sivaniah added: "It is currently an efficient filter system that could be used in countries with poor access to fresh potable water, or to remove heavy metals and industrial waste products from ground water sources. Though, with development, we hope it can also be used in making sea-water drinkable using low-tech and low-power routes."
Other applications were explored in collaboration with groups having expertise in photonics (Dr Hernan Miguez, University of Sevilla) and optoelectronics (Professor Sir Richard Friend, Cavendish Laboratory). Light-emitting devices were demonstrated using titania electrodes templated from COS materials whilst the novel stack-like arrangement of materials provide uniquely efficient photonic multilayers with potential applications as sensors that change colour in response to absorbing trace amounts of chemicals, or for use in optical components.
Dr Sivaniah added, "We are currently exploring a number of applications, to include use in light-emitting devices, solar cells, electrodes for supercapacitors as well as fuels cells."
More information: The paper 'Collective osmotic shock in ordered materials' will be published in the 27 November 2011 edition of Nature Materials. DOI: 10.1038/nmat3179
Journal information: Nature Materials
Provided by University of Cambridge


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Brady's Missing Super Bowl Jerseys Tracked to Mexico
HOUSTON (AP) — The search for Tom Brady's missing Super Bowl jersey is over. And the trail leads to Mexico.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said Monday that department investigators relied on a tip from an informant and tracked Brady's jersey from last month's 34-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons to Mexico.
They also found the quarterback's jersey that had gone missing after the Patriots' 2015 Super Bowl win over the Seattle Seahawks.
The NFL has said the jersey was in "possession of a credentialed member of the international media." A Mexican newspaper company, the Mexican Editorial Organization, said on Twitter a short time later that a former executive from tabloid Diario La Prensa was involved in the case.
A statement was expected later in the day.
The jerseys are in the possession of the FBI in Boston, and law enforcement was working to authenticate them.


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'Time' taps McKibben for his protest of the Keystone pipeline
RIPTON — It's the year of the protester, according to "Time" magazine, and Ripton's Bill McKibben fits the bill. So well, in fact, that he made it onto the "People Who Mattered" list in the magazine's annual year-in-review issue.
"It really puts it into perspective when you have Osama Bin Laden listed two places away," joked McKibben, a writer, environmental activist and scholar-in-residence at Middlebury College. He shares the spotlight in the list announced last week with the likes of acquitted murder suspect Casey Anthony, the web activism group Anonymous, Congresswoman and Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann and pop superstar Adele.
But, McKibben stressed, it's not his accomplishments exclusively that landed him in the national media this year: it's everyone who participated in the actions coordinated by environmental group 350.org, which he co-founded with students at Middlebury College.
"I'm not in there for individual accomplishments," said McKibben. "It's the recognition of a movement that's started over this past year."
Members of the group catapulted into the media spotlight in August with demonstrations and arrests in Washington, D.C., as they urged President Obama to kill the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project.
The project, which would move unrefined oil extracted from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, down to Texas, is being touted as a source of jobs and domestic energy by its proponents, but as a climate nightmare by its opponents.
Shortly after the demonstrations that culminated in protesters five-deep surrounding the White House early in November — in what McKibben says was the largest civil disobedience action in 30 years — Obama took action. Though he did not kill the issue, he postponed his decision on it until 2013, after the coming elections.
In recent days, however, the project has resurfaced, both amid budget discussions in Congress and among the Republican candidates for president. House Speaker John Boehner has pledged to tie the issue onto a bill that would extend payroll tax cuts, and during last Thursday's Republican debate, frontrunner Newt Gingrich admonished the Obama administration for holding up the "creation of 20,000 jobs" and the payroll tax cut to protect the "left-wing environmental extremists in San Francisco."
McKibben said last week that far more than U.S. jobs are at stake: it's the future of the world's climate, coming in a year when humans pumped unprecedented amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
"When (NASA's James Hansen) the foremost climatologist in the world says, 'Tap heavily into the tar sands and it's essentially game over for the climate,' that doesn't leave much room for equivocating," McKibben said.
He said it's anybody's guess what will happen with the Keystone pipeline, but that the voice of 350.org has been heard, and has raised the issue into the eyes of the public.
"It's very hard for any of us as individuals to make a significant dent in this problem — we're always up against the financial power of the fossil fuels industry," said McKibben. We're going to have to find other currencies to work in."
Those currencies, he said, are spirit, passion, creativity and even bodies. More than 1,000 people were arrested while protesting the Keystone pipeline earlier this year.
More recently, Occupy Wall Street movements around the country have made their voices heard. McKibben said he's visited nine Occupy encampments to speak and join in the protests.
"Wall Street's been occupying the atmosphere for the past 30 years, and now someone else is," said McKibben.
Accordingly, 350.org's focus over the next year will likely move to what McKibben sees as the core of the issue: the role of the corporation in U.S. politics.
"Environmentalists never win any permanent victories. The most we win are temporary victories," he said. "We'll do our best to keep fighting the Tar Sands, but also to move on to these root questions of corporate power."
Reporter Andrea Suozzo is at [email protected].
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he iPad Pro has become an essential creative tool for illustrators, artists and designers around the world. Its large, high-resolution screen coupled with the pressure-sensitive Apple Pencil and an abundance of creativity-focused apps have made it the perfect way to draw, sketch, hand-letter or paint digitally and professionally—no matter where you are. Whether you're a designer, business owner or hobbyist, take a look at this guide on how to draw digital illustrations with your iPad Pro.
Eliza Osmo, an artist and illustrator from the 99designs community, uses her iPad Pro to create gorgeous works of art and increase her productivity. In this video, Eliza guides you through the drawing apps that she uses—from Autodesk to Adobe—and how to make the most of your tablet.
Keep reading for a lightly edited transcript of the video.
How Eliza got started drawing on the iPad Pro:
I'm Eliza Osmo, artist and illustrator, and I'm going to teach you how to get started drawing on an iPad Pro.
Years back, when I first started to explore digital illustration, I bought a small Wacom Bamboo tablet. It was a nice thing to get into the industry, but not too good to be my main working tool, though. But that's how I made the first steps into my future work. Then, I tried Samsung Galaxy Note and some other tablets, but they were not working professionally enough for me.
I realized that I needed something to make illustrations faster and improve my art quality. So, I got a Wacom Cintiq 13HD, and it was totally amazing. Wacom is really, really good at making professional drawing tools. You can change the computer, connect the tablet, install drivers and continue drawing.
That's the way I was working until the wild iPad Pro appeared.
At first, I wasn't even sure if it was worth buying. Setting a 9.7-inch iPad Pro next to my current 13-inch Wacom Cintiq, it's smaller, but it has a bright IPS screen with True Tone so my eyes don't get tired from staring at it for 5+ hours a day. And there are a lot of free or cheap, really helpful apps for professionals, such as Vecteezy, Adobe Draw, Adobe Capture and Autodesk Sketchbook.
The best iPad Pro apps to help you learn how to draw digital illustrations
Autodesk Sketchbook
Let's start with Autodesk Sketchbook. It's one of the most underrated iPad drawing apps, and that's mainly because of Procreate's commercial success.
So why am I using it? There are a lot of artists that like Autodesk software, and one of the best things about it: it's completely free. Back in early 2018, Sketchbook was paid software, but now they've made it free. It's got a great interface, plus you can get it on your computer, tablet and even your phone.
Let me give you a quick rundown of the layout. It's simple and beautiful. It has everything that you need to immediately start drawing. Brushes on the left. Layers on the right. And on top, some extra rescaling, text and shape tools. Just a great app!
For example, once you finish a sketch in Autodesk Sketchbook, tap Copy, open Adobe Draw, paste it on a new image layer, lower the opacity, and start lining your vector illustration.
That's what you can see me actually doing in the video.
Adobe Draw
Adobe Draw has way fewer tools than Autodesk Sketchbook, but it allows you to exactly draw in vector.
You can play a bit with brush settings, but I'm a round brush person so I turn on pressure sensitivity and begin drawing. When finished, just tap the top right Export button, choose Adobe Desktop Application, then Illustrator or Photoshop. If you're logged into Creative Cloud both on iPad and your computer, it will open up automatically.
I find it most comfortable to use the Export as PDF feature: tap Export, then Send to Creative Cloud as PDF. You can open and edit your illustration from Creative Cloud in any software that supports vector file editing.
(And I'm not mentioning Adobe Sketch app because it has limited features.)
Adobe Capture
I often use Adobe Capture to create unique color swatches from everything that surrounds me by simply taking a picture. You can then find them in your Creative Cloud Library folder or in your Adobe Draw swatches list.
Oh, and by the way, I don't mind if my lines are imperfect, because that's what gives vector illustrations a hand-drawn feel. Even my artist friends sometimes don't know for sure if an illustration is a vector or an ink on paper drawing.
Pinterest moodboards
Another thing that you can use both as an artist or a client is Pinterest moodboards. And by "moodboard," I mean creating a folder with references in the Pinterest app that could be easily used and edited by artists and clients.
Leave comments and discuss how the final product should look. Just open the folder, tap Share, choose a nickname or email, or send a link to any messenger account, and voila!
Or you can simply use Pinterest in a split-screen mode to scroll through references and sketch or take notes.
Small screen, big creativity.
iPad Pro was created for artists, and I find drawing on it really satisfying. I'm not telling you to leave your paper and brushes. It's just another art medium that can help you when you need to work fast and might not have time to repaint the whole piece from scratch, if there's a mistake you made.
If you're watching the video above to decide which iPad Pro to buy, I recommend you buy the one that fits your budget. I have a 9.7 iPad Pro. It's the oldest one, but I bet you will not feel it's age at all. Everything that you see in the App Store runs nice and smoothly.
As a freelancer, I spend a lot of time bound to my desktop computer or laptop. iPad Pro gives me the opportunity to keep a really powerful tool in a small purse or backpack, which is really good to sketch on the go, take notes, or make vector illustrations. I love drawing on it. There are so many little features in here, but you will still need your computer to reorganize files or finish your vector art.
The iPad Pro series just started developing, and I wonder where it will go next and how many well-made and helpful apps we will see in the future.


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The ballots are in. The votes are tallied. And now without further ado, we are thrilled to share with you the winners of the 2014 WholeFoods Natural Choice Awards.
For 11 years, WholeFoods Magazine has been sending out questionnaires to all of our retailer readers, asking for votes on best sellers in several categories across all market segments. This year, we had 18 categories, including some new ones. Our former "specialty supplements" category has been broken into four awards so as to pinpoint hot sellers in condition-specific areas: immune health, bone/joint health, heart health and digestive health.
The votes came flying in this year, and we tallied up every single one. Any ties were broken with top sellers from our 2013 What's Selling columns. We're happy to honor the outstanding companies dedicated to their work in the natural products industry with our 2014 Natural Choice Awards.
Congratulations to all of our winners and runners-up! And congratulations are also in order for Nature Basket Inc. of New Bern, NC, which was randomly selected from among all our voters to receive a cash prize of $50.
This year, our winner's circle includes a great mix of old friends and fresh faces, from those picking up their seventh win to newcomers to both the awards and the industry.
For example, Quest Nutrition, Marina Del Ray, CA, winner of the Nutrition Bar category, is on our list for the very first time this year. Popular yet humble, they attribute their success to their customers: "We would be nothing without them. They share their lives with us," says Tom Bilyeu, President of Quest Nutrition. "They inspire us to keep innovating so that we can continue to provide delicious, healthy alternatives to all the junk out there."
On the other hand, derma e, Simi Valley, CA, winner of the Skincare category, has five other Natural Choice Awards under its belt, and they still feel a deep appreciation for their customers. Jennifer Norman, vice president of marketing for derma e, says the company values its customers' "trust and partnership in creating a healthier future. It's what inspires us to continue making the finest, most effective natural skincare on the planet," she adds.
Though New Chapter, Brattleboro, VT, is no stranger to the Natural Choice Awards, the firm is honored to be given the Supplements, Full Line award for the first time, says Paul Schulick, founder, formulator and master herbalist for New Chapter. "We're particularly grateful for this recognition because it comes from the inspiring retailers we've been partnering with for over 30 years — people who understand how meaningful it is to build consumer trust with products you love," says Schulick.
Bluebonnet Nutrition Corporation, Sugar Land, TX, is a double winner this year, sweeping both the Sports Supplement category for its Extreme Edge line, as well as one of our new categories, Heart Health Supplement, for Ubiquinol. Gary Barrows, president of Bluebonnet, says the company feels validated by its awards. "This acknowledgment of our dedication to the values this industry holds so dear is gratifying and exalting and further ingratiates us to our mission in continuing to live up to the high quality standards that our customers and consumers have grown to expect from the Bluebonnet brand," comments Barrows.
Some more familiar categories are accompanied by familiar faces; for example, GT's Kombucha, Beverly Hills, CA, took the top spot in our Beverages category for the seventh time this year, while Udi's, Denver, CO, maker of gluten-free products, is now working on a four-year winning streak in the Sensitive Diets category.
Though most of our categories are focused on keeping people healthy, we know that pets need good nutrition, too! Solid Gold, El Cajon, CA, has won in our Pet Care category for the first time, an accomplishment Michael Stoeckle, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Solid Gold, calls a "huge honor" that "authenticates the mission of Solid Gold to manufacture the finest and highest quality pet food available on the market today." Stoeckle expresses gratitude for the acknowledgment, which he hopes will spread the message of good pet health "to people who may otherwise not understand the importance of proper nutrition for their pets and the role their diet plays in making their pets' lives more fulfilling."
To every retailer who voted this year, thank you! Without your participation, none of this would be possible.
Here are our 2014 Natural Choice Awards winners, hand-picked by you, our readers!
—The Editors
Research and reporting by Katy Widmer
New Chapter
A newcomer to the National Choice Awards, New Chapter supplements were in high demand this year! Top sellers include its Wholemega Fish Oil, which packs 17 whole omegas including 3, 6 and 9 and is made from extra-virgin Wild Alaskan Salmon oil. Shoppers also love New Chapter's Perfect Prenatal, made only with whole foods like organic brown rice and organic kale to provide a complete probiotic multivitamin for mom and baby. Zyflamend Whole Body delivers antioxidants from ginger, turmeric, green tea and rosemary to support the body's anti-inflammatory and anti-aging processes. New Chapter's line also includes Men's and Women's One Daily, probiotics, mushroom supplements and herbal therapeutics like Bone Strength Care.
90 Technology Dr., Brattleboro, VT 05301, www.newchapter.com
Bluebonnet Nutrition Corporation, Extreme Edge
For the second time, Bluebonnet's Extreme Edge line of Sports Nutrition products takes the top spot in the category. Each product, whether designed to fuel bodybuilders and athletes pre- or post-workout, is free of the 165 substances banned by major sporting authorities, including the NFL, MLB and NCAA, so amateurs and professionals alike can get their necessary nutrients safely. The line also includes CarboLoad, a muscle-replenishing snack with 38 grams of complex carbs per serving for high energy and endurance. Bluebonnet Whey Protein Isolate, which delivers 26 grams of protein plus BCAAs, comes in three great flavors: Vicious Vanilla, Atomic Chocolate and Striking Strawberry.
12915 S. Dairy Ashford Rd., Sugar Land, TX 77478, www.bluebonnetnutrition.com
Bio Nutrition, Garcinia Cambogia
One of the most popular weight-loss supplements on the market, retailers have decided that the Garcinia Cambogia from Bio Nutrition is the absolute best seller, giving the company its very first Natural Choice Award. Garcinia Cambogia comes in easy-to-swallow vegetarian capsules and is caffeine free. Garcinia Cambogia may help maintain healthy blood glucose levels and boost the metabolism to support weight management. In addition, it may reduce appetite. One serving of Bio Nutrition Garcinia Cambogia contains 500 mg of the extract as well as calcium and potassium.
64 Alabama Ave., Island Park, NY 11558, www.bionutritioninc.com
Bluebonnet Nutrition Corporation, Ubiquinol
Credited with bringing one of the first active CoQ10 supplement forms to the market, Bluebonnet is proud of its Ubiquinol supplements. The levels of this antioxidant in the body can be repressed by a variety of conditions such as normal aging, oxidative stress and even certain medications. In addition, the body has trouble converting the inactive form of CoQ10 (Ubiquinone) to the active form, Ubiquinol; Bluebonnet's active Ubiquinol is readily available to the body. As part of its core mission to remove as many allergens as possible from its products, Bluebonnet replaced the soybean oil base with a non-GMO sunflower lecithin base, all encapsulated in vegetarian softgels. Ubiquinol is available in four potencies ranging from 25 mg to 200 mg.
12915 S. Dairy Ashford Rd., Sugar Land, TX 77478, www.bluebonnetnutrition.com
EuroPharma, Terry Naturally Curamin
Curamin, a natural pain reliever of the Terry Naturally brand from EuroPharma, is stepping up to the winner's stand for the third time in our Natural Choice Awards! The formula features four key ingredients that target and eliminate pain, which are BCM-95 Curcumin, an anti-inflammatory that, according to the company, has up to 10 times more absorption than regular curcumin; BosPure Boswellia for inflammation support; the amino acid DLPA to preserve the brain's natural pain relievers like endorphins; and nattokinase, an enzyme that supports healthy microcirculation and fights muscle pain.
955 Challenger Dr., Green Bay, WI 54311, www.europharmausa.com
Source Naturals, Wellness Formula Tab
Our first winner in the new Immune Health Supplement category, Wellness Formula Tab from Source Naturals has been supporting customers' immune systems for over 30 years. According to the company, Wellness Formula Tab was the first supplement to include a combination of vitamins, herbs and nutraceuticals for advanced immune support. These powerful ingredients include ginger root, cayenne fruit and olive leaf extract, as well as vitamins A, C and D-3, to provide comprehensive immune support through antioxidant defense, stress response and respiratory support.
23 Janis Way, Scotts Valley, CA 95066, www.sourcenaturals.com
Enzymedica, Digest Gold
When lifestyle and environmental challenges cause enzyme deficiency and digestive distress, Digest Gold from Enzymedica is retailers' best seller for relief! Digest Gold's Thera-Blend technology provides enzymes like amylase and cellulase to break down fats, carbohydrates, proteins and fiber, promoting optimal digestion. In addition, Digest Gold now includes ATPro, a blend of nutrients, like CoQ10 and magnesium citrate, that provide ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) to the body and enhance its production. ATPro promotes nutrient absorption, regulates gastric acid and decreases the energy demand of the digestive process.
771 Commerce Dr., Venice, FL 34292, www.enzymedica.com
Nature's Way, Full Line
Nature's Way boasts a full line of 200 award-winning herbal supplements, from acai to yucca. Among their many uses, some herbs can be used for digestion (like peppermint leaf and ginger root), immune support (Echinacea, goldseal herbs) or mood support (St. John's Wart). In addition to herbal supplements, Nature's Way, which has won in this category five times previously, also provides vitamins, minerals, homeopathic remedies and specialty products, such as Bee Pollen blend. Nature's Way natural products have been supporting all phases and areas of life for over 40 years.
3051 W. Maple Loop Dr., Ste. 125, Lehi, UT 84043, www.naturesway.com
Nordic Naturals, Nordic Berries
Nordic Naturals has its first win in the Children's Supplement category for its chewy children's multivitamins, Nordic Berries. Appropriate for children ages two and up, each serving of Nordic Berries contains 100% Daily Values of vitamins A, C, D3, E, B6 and B12, as well as healthy levels of zinc, magnesium and folic acid! These kid-friendly chewables are flavored with the sweet-and-sour citrus taste of Nordic cloudberries, so it's easy to get growing kids to take the vitamins they need. Nordic Berries have no artificial coloring, flavoring or preservatives.
111 Jennings Dr., Watsonville, CA 95076, www.nordicnaturals.com
Bob's Red Mill, Full Line
Featuring an extensive line of organic flours, grains, meals and mixes, Bob's Red Mill has been dedicated to wholesome natural foods for nearly 40 years. The company's stone-ground flours and meals include Organic Brown Rice Flour, Organic Corn Flour, Organic Whole Ground Flaxseed Meal and Organic Garbanzo Bean Flour, which adds protein and fiber to baked goods. According to Bob Moore, founder of Bob's Red Mill, stone-grinding keeps "all of the nutrition of the whole grain intact," enhancing the quality of the product. Other organic products include ancient grains like kamut, quinoa and farro, as well as pancake and waffle mixes made from Organic Buckwheat, Organic Whole Wheat or a 7 Grain flour blend.
13521 S.E. Pheasant Ct., Milwaukie, OR 97222, www.bobsredmill.com
Quest Nutrition, Bars
Quest Nutrition, a relatively new company in the natural products market, was the hands-down winner in the Nutrition Bar category. These no-sugar, high-protein bars are made with real ingredients like whey protein, nut butters and natural sweeteners such as lo han guo. The bars come in a variety of flavors including Apple Pie, Banana Nut Muffin and Double Chocolate Chunk. Quest Nutrition also makes junk-free Peanut Butter Cups with 20 grams of protein to satisfy cravings. According to Tom Bilyeu, President of Quest Nutrition, the company's goal is to end obesity by revolutionizing the way people eat and by "making healthy eating fun." The firm's next step? "We're going to be launching products that establish us as a food company rather than just a protein bar company," says Bilyeu.
4712 Admiralty Way, Ste. 670, Marina Del Ray, CA 90202, www.questproteinbar.com
Udi's Healthy Foods, Full line
A four-time winner in the Sensitive Diets category, Udi's makes delicious gluten-free products, like muffins and bagels, that make customers keep coming back for more! The breads, which come in white, whole-grain, cinnamon raisin or ancient grains, are free of gluten, soy and dairy. Udi's also provides delicious gluten-free treats like pizza crusts, cookies, brownies and granola bars in flavors like Cranberry Almond with Omega-3 and Chocolate Chip with antioxidants, zinc and vitamin E. According to Udi's, "When it comes to substitutions, we make improvements, not sacrifices."
1600 Pearl Street, Ste. 300, Boulder, CO 80302
Follow Your Heart, Vegenaise
For the third time, Follow Your Heart's Vegenaise has won in the Vegan Food category. The firm's egg-free Vegenaise is made with high-quality non-GMO oils, like grapeseed oil and safflower oil, for a creamy texture without saturated fat. Vegenaise comes in five varieties: Original, Reduced Fat, Organic (made entirely with USDA Certified Organic ingredients), Grapeseed Oil and Soy-Free, which contains high levels of antioxidants. Vegenaise is low in sodium, cholesterol-free, gluten-free and made without preservatives.
P.O. Box 9400, Canoga Park, CA 91309, www.followyourheart.com
Millennium Products, GT's Kombucha
With seven total wins, GT's Kombucha has been topping the shopping lists of natural shoppers since 1995. These USDA-certified organic, raw, live drinks contain probiotics, antioxidants and enzymes intended to "nourish your body from the inside out." GT's Kombuchas come in four varieties: Enlightened Kombucha, Enlightened Synergy, Classic Kombucha and Classic Synergy. Flavors include Citrus, Gingerade, Third Eye Chai, Guava Goddess and Strawberry Serenity.
P.O. Box 2352, Beverly Hills, CA 90213, www.synergydrinks.com
derma e, full line
derma e's full line of skin care products subscribe to the antioxidant theory of aging; they are designed to include active levels of antioxidants such as astaxanthin and vitamin E. In addition, Therapeutic Topicals address skin conditions like age spots and scars with vitamins and botanicals. Products include Very Clear Acne Scrub, Soothing Cleanser and Evenly Radiant Brightening Day Crème. All of derma e's products are cruelty-free, 100% vegan and free of GMOs, parabens, phthalates and artificial colors.
4485 Runway St., Simi Valley, CA 93063, www.dermae.com
Giovanni Cosmetics, Shampoos and Conditioners
Giovanni Cosmetics has recently introduced a new collection to its award-winning line of shampoos and conditioners! 2chic Avocado and Olive Oil Ultra-Moist Collection, featuring shampoo, conditioner, leave-in spray, anti-frizz serum and more, has an intensely nourishing formula to rehydrate dry hair and give it life! Its avocado oil contains fatty acids to restore moisture, as well as vitamins A, C, B6 and E for flexibility. The olive oil penetrates deep into the hair follicle to condition and hydrate from within, and improves elasticity and strength to prevent split ends. All of Giovanni's products reflect the "Rule of Balance": Make each product as pure and natural as possible without sacrificing exceptional product performance.
P.O. Box 6990, Beverly Hills, CA 90212, www.giovannicosmetics.com
Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, Soaps
Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps liquid and bar soaps, all certified organic, have won in the Personal Care category for the second time. All of Dr. Bronner's soaps are eco-friendly, completely biodegradable, vegetable-based and certified Fair Trade, as the company advocates for "the deeper mission of the organic and fair trade movements." Made with organic oils from coconut, olive, hemp and jojoba, these soaps come in eight fragrances, including Almond, Citrus Orange, Lavender, Rose and Peppermint. Those with sensitive skin, including babies, can appreciate the gentleness of fragrance-free Unscented Baby-Mild soaps. No synthetic foaming agents, thickeners or preservatives are used.
1335 Park Center Dr., Vista, CA 92081, www.drbronner.com
Solid Gold, Dog Food
Solid Gold's healthy pet products are all-natural, holistic, contain no chemical preservatives and are available for all life-stages and pet diets. The Dry Food line includes a Grain and Gluten-free mix made with real foods like chicken, peas and potatoes. Other proteins in the line include bison, lamb and even fish! Solid Gold also offers 12 varieties of canned pet food, all-natural jerky and cookie treats, as well as supplements like D-Zyme powder for optimum digestion and their number one selling supplement, SeaMeal, which delivers carefully-selected vitamins, minerals, enzymes and amino acids for overall pet health.
1331 N. Cuyamaca St., Ste. 1, El Cajon, CA 92020, www.solidgoldhealth.com
SUPPLEMENTS, FULL LINE: Garden of Life |
SUPPLEMENTS, DIGESTIVE HEALTH: Garden of Life, Probiotics |
Published in WholeFoods Magazine, April 2014


text:
Content-type: text/html
#include <re_comp.h>
char *re_comp(const char *string);
int re_exec(const char *string);
The re_comp() function converts a regular expression string (RE) into an internal form suitable for pattern matching. The re_exec() function compares the string pointed to by the string argument with the last regular expression passed to re_comp().
If re_comp() is called with a null pointer argument, the current regular expression remains unchanged.
Strings passed to both re_comp() and re_exec() must be terminated by a null byte, and may include NEWLINE characters.
The re_comp() and re_exec() functions support simple regular expressions, which are defined on the regexp(5) manual page. The regular expressions of the form \{m\}, \{m,\}, or \{m,n\} are not supported.
The re_comp() function returns a null pointer when the string pointed to by the string argument is successfully converted. Otherwise, a pointer to one of the following error message strings is returned:
No previous regular expression Regular expression too long unmatched \( missing ] too many \(\) pairs unmatched \)
Upon successful completion, re_exec() returns 1 if string matches the last compiled regular expression. Otherwise, re_exec() returns 0 if string fails to match the last compiled regular expression, and -1 if the compiled regular expression is invalid (indicating an internal error).
For portability to implementations conforming to X/Open standards prior to SUS, regcomp(3C) and regexec(3C) are preferred to these functions. See standards(5).
grep(1), regcmp(1), regcmp(3C), regcomp(3C), regexec(3C), regexpr(3GEN), regexp(5), standards(5)


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I have added new fields on the user profile page.
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I don't want to use a plugin only my own code I want change this code :

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As part of our efforts to improve the healthcare system, Optimum HealthCare has made a commitment to detecting and preventing fraud, waste, and abuse.
Success in this effort is essential to maintaining a healthcare system that is affordable for everyone. Optimum HealthCare is getting the word out about how physicians and other health care providers can help with fraud, waste, and abuse prevention.
What is Fraud, Waste, and Abuse?
Fraud is generally defined as making a false claim in an effort to receive payment. For example, fraud in the healthcare industry can involve:
- Billing for medical services that weren't ordered or provided
- Billing for durable medical equipment items that weren't ordered or provided
- Providing services or items a person doesn't need based on his or her medical history
- "Doctor shopping" – when a patient who may or may not have a legitimate physical ailment goes from doctor to doctor to obtain multiple prescriptions for narcotic painkillers
To protect yourself from fraud, thoroughly review your Explanation of Benefits (EOB) after you receive healthcare services. If you see something that doesn't look right, you should report the situation right away.
Learn more about how to identify Enrollment Fraud by watching this video:
Look out for Enrollment Fraud
Waste is generally defined as overusing services or a misuse of resources that result in unnecessary costs to the Medicare Program.
- Conducting excessive office visits or writing excessive prescriptions
- Prescribing more medications than necessary for the treatment of a specific condition
- Ordering excessive laboratory tests
Abuse is generally defined as payment for items or services when payment is not legally allowed and the provider has not knowingly misled the Plan or Medicare.
- Billing for unnecessary medical services
- Billing for brand name drugs when generics are dispensed
- Charging excessively for services or supplies
- Misusing codes on a claim, such as up-coding or unbundling codes
How to Report Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
To report suspected fraud, waste, abuse, non-compliance or HIPAA violations anonymously, you can contact Optimum HealthCare in one of these ways:
- Hotline: English (888) 548-0094
- Toll-Free Fax: (888) 548-0092
- E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
- Mailing Address: PO Box 152137, Tampa, FL 33684
- EthicsPoint Web Portal: www.americas1stchoice.ethicspoint.com
Any individual, entity, or group that is employed by or provides a service on behalf of Optimum HealthCare (including employees, subscribers, professional providers, employees of a provider, facilities, or billing companies) may be the subject of the complaint.
You will receive a response to your complaint, unless you choose to remain anonymous.


text:
United States Department of Justice
Seal of the United States Department of Justice | |
Flag of the United States Department of Justice | |
The Robert F. Kennedy Building in August 2006. The building serves as the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Justice. | |
Department overview | |
Formed | July 1, 1870 |
Jurisdiction | Federal government of the United States |
Headquarters |
Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, D.C., United States 38°53′36″N 77°1′30″W / 38.89333°N 77.02500°WCoordinates: 38°53′36″N 77°1′30″W / 38.89333°N 77.02500°W |
Motto | "Qui Pro Domina Justitia Sequitur" (Latin: "Who prosecutes on behalf of justice (or the Lady Justice)"[1][2] |
Employees | 113,543 (2012) |
Annual budget | $27.1 billion (2013)[3] |
Department executives | |
Website | www.justice.gov |
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government, responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice in the United States, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.
The Department is headed by the United States Attorney General, who is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate and is a member of the Cabinet. The current Attorney General is Loretta Lynch.
The U.S. Attorney General was initially a one-person, part-time job. It was established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, but this grew with the bureaucracy. At one time the Attorney General gave legal advice to the U.S. Congress as well as the President, but this Congressional advice-giving had stopped by 1819 on account of the workload involved.[4] To supplement their salaries, which until March 3, 1853, were set by statute at less than the amounts paid to other members of the Cabinet, early Attorneys General, while in office, engaged in extensive private practice of law, often arguing cases before the courts in their private capacities, as attorneys for private (paying) litigants.[5]
Following unsuccessful efforts (in 1830 and 1846) to put the Attorney General's Office on a full-time footing,[6] in 1869, the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, led by Congressman William Lawrence, conducted an inquiry into the creation of a "Law department" headed by the Attorney General and also composed of the various department solicitors and United States attorneys. On February 19, 1868, Lawrence introduced a bill in Congress to create the Department of Justice. This first bill was unsuccessful, however, as Lawrence could not devote enough time to ensure its passage owing to his occupation with the Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson.
A second bill was introduced to Congress by Rhode Island Representative Thomas Jenckes on February 25, 1870, and both the Senate and House passed the bill. President Ulysses S. Grant then signed the bill into law on June 22, 1870.[7] The Department of Justice officially began operations on July 1, 1870.[4] Just prior to the Civil War, in February of 1861, the Confederate States of America established a Department of Justice.[8] Though "[t]he second American department of justice was brought into being on July 1, 1870 [, ] fifty years of amendments were required before it reached a status comparable to that of its Confederate predecessor." [9]
The "Act to Establish the Department of Justice" drastically increased the Attorney General's responsibilities to include the supervision of all United States Attorneys, formerly under the Department of the Interior, the prosecution of all federal crimes, and the representation of the United States in all court actions, barring the use of private attorneys by the federal government.[10] The law did create a new office, that of Solicitor General, to supervise and conduct government litigation in the Supreme Court of the United States.[11]
With the passage of the Interstate Commerce Act in 1887, the federal government began to take on some law enforcement responsibilities, with the Department of Justice tasked to carry out these duties.[12]
In 1884, control of federal prisons was transferred to the new department, from the Department of Interior. New facilities were built, including the penitentiary at Leavenworth in 1895, and a facility for women located in West Virginia, at Alderson was established in 1924.[13]
In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order which conveyed, to the Department of Justice, the responsibility for the "functions of prosecuting in the courts of the United States claims and demands by, and offsenses [sic] against, the Government of the United States, and of defending claims and demands against the Government, and of supervising the work of United States attorneys, marshals, and clerks in connection therewith, now exercised by any agency or officer....".[14]
The U.S. Department of Justice building was completed in 1935 from a design by Milton Bennett Medary. Upon Medary's death in 1929, the other partners of his Philadelphia firm Zantzinger, Borie and Medary took over the project. On a lot bordered by Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues and Ninth and Tenth Streets, Northwest, it holds over one million square feet of space. The sculptor C. Paul Jennewein served as overall design consultant for the entire building, contributing more than 50 separate sculptural elements inside and outside.
Various efforts, none entirely successful, have been made to determine the meaning of the Latin motto appearing on the Department of Justice seal, Qui Pro Domina Justitia Sequitur. It is not even known exactly when the original version of the DOJ seal itself was adopted, or when the motto first appeared on the seal. The most authoritative opinion of the DOJ suggests that the motto refers to the Attorney General (and thus, by extension, to the Department of Justice) "who prosecutes on behalf of justice (or the Lady Justice)."[15] The motto's conception of the prosecutor (or government attorney) as being the servant of justice itself finds concrete expression in a similarly-ordered English-language inscription ("THE UNITED STATES WINS ITS POINT WHENEVER JUSTICE IS DONE ITS CITIZENS IN THE COURTS") in the above-door paneling in the ceremonial rotunda anteroom just outside the Attorney General's office in the Department of Justice Main Building in Washington, D.C.[16]
The building was renamed in honor of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy in 2001. It is sometimes referred to as "Main Justice."[17]
Leadership offices
- Office of the Attorney General
- Office of the Deputy Attorney General
- Office of the Associate Attorney General
- Office of the United States Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General
Division | Date Established (as formal division) |
Antitrust Division | 1933[18] |
Civil Division (originally called the Claims Division; adopted current name on February 13, 1953)[19][20] |
1933[19] |
Civil Rights Division | 1957[21] |
Criminal Division | 1919[22] |
Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) (originally called the Land and Natural Resources Division; adopted current name in 1990)[23] |
1909[23] |
Justice Management Division (JMD) (originally called the Administrative Division; adopted current name in 1985)[24] |
1945[24] |
National Security Division (NSD) | 2007[25] |
Tax Division | 1933[26] |
War Division (defunct) | 1942 (disestablished 1945)[27] |
Law enforcement agencies
Several federal law enforcement agencies are administered by the Department of Justice:
- United States Marshals Service (USMS) – The office of U.S. Marshal was established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. The U.S. Marshals Service was established as an agency in 1969, and it was elevated to full bureau status under the Justice Department in 1974.[28][29]
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – On July 26, 1908, a small investigative force was created within the Justice Department under Attorney General Charles Bonaparte. The following year, this force was officially named the Bureau of Investigation by Attorney General George W. Wickersham. In 1935, the bureau adopted its current name.[30]
- Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) – the Three Prisons Act of 1891 created the federal prison system. Congress created the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 1930 by Pub. L. No. 71–218, 46 Stat. 325, signed into law by President Hoover on May 14, 1930.[31][32][33]
- National Institute of Corrections
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) – Except for a brief period during Prohibition, ATF's predecessor bureaus were part of the Department of the Treasury for more than two hundred years.[34] ATF was first established by Department of Treasury Order No. 221, effective July 1, 1972; this order "transferred the functions, powers, and duties arising under laws relating to alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives from the Internal Revenue Service to ATF.[35] In 2003, under the terms of the Homeland Security Act, ATF was split into two agencies – the new Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was transferred to the Department of Justice, while the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) was retained by the Department of the Treasury.[34]
- Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
- Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
- Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)
- Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA)
- Executive Office of the United States Trustee (EOUST)
- Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management (OARM)
- Office of the Chief Information Officer
- In May 2014, the Department appointed Joseph Klimavicz as CIO.[36] Klimavicz succeeds Kevin Deeley, who served as acting CIO since November 2013 when the previous office holder, Luke McCormack, left to take the CIO post at the Department of Homeland Security.[36]
- Office of Dispute Resolution
- Office of the Federal Detention Trustee (OFDT)
- Office of Immigration Litigation
- Office of Information Policy
- Office of Intelligence Policy and Review (OIPR)
- Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison (merged with Office of Legislative Affairs on April 12, 2012)
- Office of Justice Programs (OJP)
- Bureau of Justice Assistance
- Bureau of Justice Statistics
- Community Capacity Development Office
- National Institute of Justice
- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
- Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking Office (SMART)
- Office for Victims of Crime
- Office of the Police Corps and Law Enforcement Education
- Office of Legal Counsel (OLC)
- Office of Legal Policy (OLP)
- Office of Legislative Affairs
- Office of the Pardon Attorney
- Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties (OPCL)
- Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR)
- Office of Public Affairs
- Office on Sexual Violence and Crimes against Children
- Office of Tribal Justice
- Office on Violence Against Women
- Professional Responsibility Advisory Office (PRAO)
- United States Attorneys Offices
- United States Trustees Offices
- Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
- Community Relations Service
Other offices and programs
- Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States
- INTERPOL, U.S. National Central Bureau
- National Drug Intelligence Center (former)
- Obscenity Prosecution Task Force (former)
- United States Parole Commission
In March 2003, the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service was abolished and its functions transferred to the United States Department of Homeland Security. The Executive Office for Immigration Review and the Board of Immigration Appeals, which review decisions made by government officials under Immigration and Nationality law, remain under jurisdiction of the Department of Justice. Similarly the Office of Domestic Preparedness left the Justice Department for the Department of Homeland Security, but only for executive purposes. The Office of Domestic Preparedness is still centralized within the Department of Justice, since its personnel are still officially employed within the Department of Justice.
In 2003, the Department of Justice created LifeAndLiberty.gov, a website that supported the USA PATRIOT Act. It was criticized by government watchdog groups for its alleged violation of U.S. Code Title 18 Section 1913, which forbids money appropriated by Congress to be used to lobby in favor of any law, actual or proposed.[37] The website has since been taken offline.
Finances and budget
The Justice Department was authorized a budget for Fiscal Year 2015 of approximately $21 billion. The budget authorization is broken down as follows:[38]
Program | Funding (in millions) |
Management and Finance | |
General Administration | $129 |
Justice Information Sharing Technology | $26 |
Administrative Reviews and Appeals
Office of the Inspector General | $89 |
United States Parole Commission | $13 |
National Security Division | $92 |
Legal Activities | |
Office of the Solicitor General | $12 |
Tax Division | $109 |
Criminal Division | $202 |
Civil Division | $298 |
Environmental and Natural Resources Division | $112 |
Office of Legal Counsel | $7 |
Civil Rights Division | $162 |
Antitrust Division | $162 |
United States Attorneys | $1,955 |
United States Bankruptcy Trustees | $226 |
Law Enforcement Activities | |
United States Marshals Service | $2,668 |
Federal Bureau of Investigation | $8,347 |
Drug Enforcement Administration | $2,018 |
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives | $1,201 |
Federal Bureau of Prisons | $6,894 |
Interpol-Washington Office | $32 |
Grant Programs | |
Office of Justice Programs | $1,427 |
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services | $248 |
Office on Violence Against Women | $410 |
Mandatory Spending | |
Mandatory Spending | $4,011 |
See also
Notes and references
- ↑ Revision of Original Letter Dated 14 February 1992, United States Department of Justice.
- ↑ Madan, Rafael (Fall 2008). "The Sign and Seal of Justice" (PDF). Ave Maria Law Review. 7: 123, 191–192. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ↑ http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2013/assets/justice.pdf
- 1 2 "United States Department of Justice: About DOJ".
- ↑ Madan, Rafael (Fall 2008). "The Sign and Seal of Justice" (PDF). Ave Maria Law Review. 7: 123, 127–136. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ↑ Madan, Rafael (Fall 2008). "The Sign and Seal of Justice" (PDF). Ave Maria Law Review. 7: 123, 132–134. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ↑ "Public Acts of the Forty First Congress".
- ↑ Act of February 21, 1861, An Act to organize and establish an Executive Department to be known as the Department of Justice, Prov. C.S. Cong.
- ↑ William M. Robinson, Justice in Grey, A History of the Judicial System of the Confederate States of America 38, additionally citing at n.33, Albert Langeluttig, The Department of Justice of the United States 12 (1927), and Arthur J. Dodge, Origin and Development of the Office of the Attorney General, House Doc. 510, 70th Cong., 2d Sess., at 65-78 (U.S. G.P.O., 1929).
- ↑ "Act to Establish the Department of Justice". Memory.loc.gov. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
- ↑ http://www.justice.gov/about
- ↑ Langeluttig, Albert (1927). The Department of Justice of the United States. Johns Hopkins Press. pp. 9–14.
- ↑ Langeluttig, Albert (1927). The Department of Justice of the United States. Johns Hopkins Press. pp. 14–15.
- ↑ Executive Order 6166, Sec. 5 (June 12, 1933), at .
- ↑ Madan, Rafael (Fall 2008). "The Sign and Seal of Justice" (PDF). Ave Maria Law Review. 7: 123, 125, 191–192, 203. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ↑ Madan, Rafael (Fall 2008). "The Sign and Seal of Justice" (PDF). Ave Maria Law Review. 7: 123, 192–203. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ↑ "PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM DIRECTS DESIGNATION OF MAIN JUSTICE BUILDING AS THE "ROBERT F. KENNEDY JUSTICE BUILDING"". U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ↑ History of the Antitrust Division, United States Department of Justice.
- 1 2 Gregory C. Sisk & Michael F. Noone, Litigation with the Federal Government (4th ed.) (American Law Institute, 2006), pp. 10-11.
- ↑ Former Assistant Attorneys General: Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice.
- ↑ Kevin Alonso & R. Bruce Anderson, "Civil Rights Legislation and Policy" in Postwar America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History (2006, ed. James Ciment), p .233.
- ↑ Organization, Mission and Functions Manual: Criminal Division, United States Department of Justice.
- 1 2 Arnold W. Reitze, Air Pollution Control Law: Compliance and Enforcement (Environmental Law Institute, 2001), p. 571.
- 1 2 Cornell W. Clayton, The Politics of Justice: The Attorney General and the Making of Legal Policy (M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 1992), p. 34.
- ↑ National Security Cultures: Patterns of Global Governance (Routledge, 2010; eds. Emil J. Kirchner & James Sperling), p. 195.
- ↑ Nancy Staudt, The Judicial Power of the Purse: How Courts Fund National Defense in Times of Crisis (University of Chicago Press, 2011), p. 34.
- ↑ Civilian Agency Records: Department of Justice Records, National Archived and Records Administration.
- ↑ Larry K. Gaines & Victor E. Kappeler, Policing in America (8th ed. 2015), pp. 38–39.
- ↑ United States Marshals Service Then … and Now (Office of the Director, United States Marshals Service, U.S. Department of Justice, 1978).
- ↑ The FBI: A Comprehensive Reference Guide (Oryz Press, 1999, ed. Athan G. Theoharis), p. 102.
- ↑ Mitchel P. Roth, Prisons and Prison Systems: A Global Encyclopedia (Greenwood, 2006), pp. 278–79.
- ↑ Dean J. Champion, Sentencing: A Reference Handbook (ABC-CLIO, Inc.: 2008), pp. 22–23.
- ↑ James O. Windell, Looking Back in Crime: What Happened on This Date in Criminal Justice History? (CRC Press, 2015), p. 91.
- 1 2 Transfer of ATF to U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
- ↑ Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau, Federal Register.
- 1 2 Malykhina, Elena (April 25, 2014). "Justice Department Names New CIO". Government. InformationWeek.
- ↑ Dotgovwatch.com, October 18, 2007
- ↑ 2015 Department of Justice Budget Authority by Appropriation, United States Department of Justice, Accessed 2015-07-13
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to United States Department of Justice. |
- Official website
- USDOJ in the Federal Register
- Organization chart
- Human Rights First; In Pursuit of Justice: Prosecuting Terrorism Cases in the Federal Courts (2009)
- Justice.gov Indictment against internet poker using UIGEA.


text:
Lifesavers though they are, portable, heart-shocking defibrillators are not fail-safe.
Like any machine, automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, need to be maintained. Batteries run down and need to be replaced. Electrode pads that attach to a patient's chest also deteriorate and have to be replaced every year or so. Circuitry can fail. And maintenance can be spotty.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received more than 45,000 reports of "adverse events" associated with failure of AEDs between 2005 and 2012, although only some of the events involved the fully automated devices put in public areas. The others were defibrillators limited to medical use. Manufacturers also conducted more than 80 recalls during the seven-year period.
The number of AEDs sold in the U.S. has been rising steadily, from around 100,000 a year in 2010 to between 500,000 and 1 million this year, according to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation and industry officials. There are about 2.5 million deployed.
"Survival from cardiac arrest depends on the reliable operation of AEDs,'' said Dr. Lawrence DeLuca, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
He led a 2011 review of more than 40,000 AED malfunctions reported to the FDA between 1993 and 2008. The analysis found that 1,150 deaths occurred during those failures.
No one knows exactly how often someone attempts to use an AED, but with an average survival rate of 2 percent to 4 percent from sudden cardiac arrest outside a hospital, according to studies, the devices help save roughly 3,500 to 7,000 lives each year, although not all of the rescues are performed by untrained bystanders. If AEDs were more widely available, the number of saved lives could triple or more, experts say.
"AEDs can truly be lifesavers, but only if they are in good working order and people are willing to use them,'' said DeLuca, who had a personal experience with batteries failing on a device when he was trying to revive a fellow guest at a resort in 2008. It took nine minutes to retrieve a second AED, which did work. The patient was not revived.
Problems with pads, cables and batteries accounted for nearly half the failures -- mistakes that could have been due to poor maintenance. Forty-five percent of failures linked to fatalities occurred when the device was attempting to charge (power up) and deliver a recommended shock to someone in cardiac arrest, DeLuca said.
For example, in Washington, D.C., there have been at least two sudden-cardiac-arrest deaths -- one in a gym in 2011, one in a Metro subway station in 2012 -- that occurred after AEDs failed to work due to dead batteries.
But there also were incidents reported to the FDA when the devices shut down without analyzing a patient's heart rhythm. Regulators and watchdogs believe some victims were not revived when the machines failed, but it's difficult to say whether any particular patient would have had heartbeat restored.
According to the FDA, in one case, a nurse was trying to hook up a defibrillator to a patient when the screen read "memory full" and shut down. In another, a software defect caused the machine to flash an "equipment disabled" message.
The FDA said the most common malfunction reports involved design flaws and manufacturing of the devices using poor-quality parts such as capacitors and software.
In addition, FDA officials noted several recent studies that found location and ownership of AEDs is so poorly documented in many areas, and machines are often locked away and forgotten, that they may not be maintained properly or repaired in the event of a recall.
Manufacturers insist they work hard to know where the devices are using their own sales records, but government accounting for AEDs at the state or local level is incomplete at best. Many states don't require the devices to be registered.
AED failures have raised enough concern that the FDA is ending the medium-risk status that AEDs have had since they first became widespread more than 20 years ago. Basically, defibrillators were grandfathered in because similar devices had been around before the FDA changed its rules for medical gear.
Now, they'll be classified high-risk equipment that reflects their use to support and sustain human life -- and their greatly increased sophistication over the years. Manufacturers will have to provide more safety evidence and FDA inspectors will be allowed to inspect plants where parts are made.
The tighter rules don't mean the public should lack confidence in the lifesaving devices. Dr. William Meisel, the FDA's chief scientist for devices, stressed the essential role AEDs play when he announced the new rules in March.
"These devices are critically important and serve a very important public-health need," Meisel said, noting that none were being taken out of service beyond the recalls manufacturers have already issued. "Patients and the public should have confidence in these devices and we encourage people to use them under the appropriate circumstances."
Some advocates worry that the tighter regulations may stifle innovation and drive up the cost of AEDs, hurting the campaign for broader availability in more public locations.
"If the designation reduces distribution and access due to increased costs and regulatory hurdles, progress toward improving survival rates nationwide will be stymied,'' David Belkin, a Maryland attorney and cardiac-arrest survivor on the board of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation told the FDA in 2011. "It's essential to keep in mind that AEDs do not cause death."
Others say the unique status of AEDs as sophisticated, life-restoring devices being put into the hands of the public merits the higher safety standard.
"I'd have to say making products safer and making sure they work if they're hooked up to you outweighs the regulatory costs," said West Palm Beach, Fla., attorney Craig Goldenfarb, a specialist in injury cases related to sudden cardiac death and AEDs.
By Lee Bowman
SOURCE: Scripps Howard News Service